Shop Your Own Closet

Happy Monday!!  I hope you are ready for the week, fully caffeinated, and feeling good.  I know for me I have had to take a read on my own mental health, the news on the happenings in Russia and Ukraine are heartbreaking and very hard to read and watch.  I so wish I could do more, even help more, pray more, and bring more peace.  I do take some comfort in the news that prayer does help them and I will continue to pray until they are safe and this madness is over. It is truly heartbreaking and makes me so very angry and sad. 

New To Me Sustainable

As my mind continues to think about sustainable shopping I had the luck over the weekend to find some new to me shops that I think are perfect for your list of sustainable shopping stores. The more I think about this the more I come to realize that my hunting and love of finding things barely used is not only helpful to me, but also helpful to the planet.  Look at me being so proud of myself ... ha ... but seriously, I am thankful I have been shopping resale and selling my items for years.  My want to buy and replace, donate and sell has definitely been helpful in building a closet I love and continue to curate.  I think it may be one of my favorite hobbies, and one I have become pretty good at over the years. 

Spicy Margaritas

I had the best spicy margarita yesterday and decided it needed to be something I learned how to master for taco nights at home with friends.  I really love a great margarita, the tang, the salty + the sweet, I think it is just so delicious.  We eat a lot of Mexican food at home with tacos, bowls, and fajitas and I do love pairing a Mexican evening with a great margarita.  I mastered the regular margarita in 2020 and now I am ready to tackle the spicy one. 

Living In Blue + White

I have been incredibly inspired by all things blue and white lately and after seeing two different dresses in stunning blue and white patterns I was inspired to gather all sorts of blue and white items. Have you heard that Mark Sikes has been chosen to decorate Jill Biden's East Wing office?  I am thrilled for him and can't wait to see what kind of amazing and timeless design he includes.  💙 

Blue and white .. timeless and as traditional as it comes. 

Sample Sales

There are some great deals to be found at a sample sale and I most definitely check them out when it is a brand I love. This week I found not one, but two, great ones to share with you. Both of these brands are brands I love, own, and would recommend repeatedly.  My friend Elizabeth Cook notified me of both of these sales and I thought I would pass on the goodness to you. 

Can we all have a yummy cocktail + shop the sales?  Doesn't that sounds amazing?  Oh, and by the way that isn't a tray of three cocktails, it is a CAKE. I was just chatting with the darling Julie McAllister and that is a groom cake she made. If you do not know Julie, here is the first introduction to her, I will be sharing more of her very, very soon. 😉

All The Dresses

I was looking for a perfect thing to write about today and this lovely follower sent me a message yesterday complimenting my dress collection.  She asked if I would be willing to share some great ones with all of you and her timing was perfect.  Between all the content I had planned to share today I had this day waiting for a great idea.  Thanks to her I had one immediately.  I love wearing a dress almost every day.  I love how easy they are to put on, how great they make me feel, and how I can go so quickly from errands during the day to dinner in the evening with just one shoe change.  💗

Shop Buru x The Southern C

As I have mentioned attending Summit this year was epic.  There was a perfect mix of brands, people, and the excitement of being together again ... it was truly just so very good.  One of my favorite things about the conference was meeting Morgan Hutchinson, the owner of Buru.  Morgan is a fabulous woman, so kind and thoughtful, and truly one of the most inspiring women who took the stage.  I have loved Buru for a while and just last year bought my first two pieces.  What I absolutely loved most about the experience was the ability to change a dress they had that I adored but the colors offered were not me.  They simply allowed me to choose from some swatches of left over fabric they had and I ended up with a custom caftan that I will wear for years.  It is so me and feels so very special to own it. 

Six Things I Loved + Bought Vol. 13

Happy, happy Valentines Day!  I hope your morning was a good one and like me, you loved last night's concert.  I am super excited for the Rams, their quarterback is a Georgia boy.  How fun, right? I woke up and had my first cup of coffee jamming out to Mary J. Blige ... she killed it last night and I need to add her music into my playlist.  Maybe I should make a Superbowl inspired play list .. that would be fabulous!

Pink Drinks With Paige

What is better than besties in cute dresses with yummy pink drinks?  I am not sure, but the only thing I can think of would be having them all together in the same room at the same time.  If you follow me on Instagram, and you should, you will see that I just published a carousel of my darling friends all wearing a Sue Sartor dress and holding their favorite pink drink. They are all gorgeous, talented, and wicked smart and each of them brings something unique and special to this mix.  Plus, they all have delicious pink drink recipes to share with you. 💗

Sustainable Fashion

If you do not follow Melissa Smrekar on Instagram you need to stop what you are doing and remedy that immediately.  Melissa is wicked smart, very wise, decisive, has an incredible sense of self, oh, and is absolutely hilarious.  She will tell you what she thinks the second you ask.  I adore her.  I adore following her and her recent post upon returning back to Dallas from Paris gave me pause.  I love when someone shares something that makes me think, take notice of myself, and changes the course of my path ... and Melissa's post did just that. 

Sweatshirts, But Make It Cute

Remember when the pandemic started and we swapped all our cute clothes for sweatshirts + leggings?  And then remember after the world opened again and we didn't want to abandon our soft and comfy clothes?  Yes, me too, but here is the funny part.  I did not own a collection of sweatshirts before this time.  I only owned two and I don't think I ever wore them in public.  It wasn't a thing of me thinking I was too good for that ... it was more a thing of, mine are not cute for public viewing. Well, thank you to the pandemic that has completely changed and now I have a huge stack of them and can be seen wearing them a lot and most definitely out of my house. 

The Perfect Valentine Dress(es)

You know I love February and I will absolutely wear red and pink and most definitely pink every single day.  I am heading to the shower after pushing publish on this post to sport a pink striped dress.  I am telling you it's just the best month with the most gorgeous color palette. With that being said I have picked out some goodies to share that I think would make perfect Valentines Day dresses.  Of course I have picked out dresses that would be darling to wear any time at all, with the day of love just being a perfect opportunity.  

Hold tight ... here comes all the pink + red. 

Oh Summit ... You Were Perfect

Happy Monday!  I am home, not at all unpacked, rested, and making to do list after to do list following an incredible five days in Sea Island.  I am still trying to process it all, it was that good. I think what made this year the best was the people. It was a perfect combination of speakers, presenters, attendees, mentors, and friends. I have attended every single big Summit since 2015 and this was a year I will never forget.  We sat around each evening and soaked each other up.  We talked collaborations and how to support one another and trips and just bonded over our businesses and it was truly life giving. I had mentioned before I left I was struggling with inspiration and now I am home and trying to decide what to do first because it is all really, that good. 

Bow Kaftan

The first thing I wore once we arrived in Sea Island and got settled was a darling kaftan from the ever stylish Teggy French.  To know Alex is to adore her.  She has impeccable style, wondering suggestions for pairing, and a true eye for fashion.  When she first mentioned she would be designing kaftans I was thrilled knowing that they would be beautiful, comfortable, and pieces I would love and treasure for years to come. 

A Big Thank You

The other day I was talking to a friend and shared that I had been writing this blog for quite a while ... and when I thought back to how long it has actually been I was stopped in my tracks.  My first blog post was written and published on December 16,2007, almost 15 years ago. 

Let's take a second for that ... fifteen years.